NEWS

The Prime Minister participated in the conference entitled Gender Equality Pays Off

At Brdo pri Kranju, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Alenka Bratušek, participated in the conference entitled Gender Equality Pays Off, where political, economic, social and private arguments for equality between men and women were discussed. The Prime Minister addressed the participants of the conference and took part in a round table entitled Gender Equality - Experiences and Challenges, with speakers including also the Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Anja Kopač Mrak, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to the Republic of Slovenia, Tove Skarstein.

 

In her address, the Prime Minister pointed out that despite the fact that Slovenia, at first glance, appears to have no issue with gender equality, "the key challenges remain particularly in the areas of balanced representation in decision-making positions in politics and economics, segregation of education and employment, and equal distribution of time to care for the home and family." She emphasised that consideration of the differences between the genders, while simultaneously ensuring their equality, should be included in the formulation of all policies and measures. This is especially important in the time of the adoption of anti-crisis policies and austerity measures, since the analyses have shown that women are the most affected by these measures. According to Prime Minister, the modern society can not afford the untapped potential of women, also because studies show that equality between men and women increases the performance of companies and has a positive effect on decision-making processes in the business and political world. Women will be able to take the first opportunity to enter the latter already in the forthcoming local and European elections.

 

At the round table, where participants talked about their experiences, the Prime Minister pointed out that the politics is still dominated by men, which can also be seen in the meetings of the European Council, where among 28 representatives of the Member States there are four women only. She went on to explain that a year ago she had advocated that the Government should have at least half female members but was not successful in pursuing this aim. Speaking about her role in the politics, the Prime Minister expressed the wish that she "would not be remembered only as the first Slovenian female Prime Minister, but rather as the first female Prime Minister who also did something good for Slovenia."